Meet Witty
My Spiritual Orientation & Background:
I come from a Sikh family background and became a Christian during my undergraduate years at University. I bounced around churches as a student, attending a few Anglican churches along the way. After getting married, my husband and I worshipped at a Pentecostal church for 20 years, because it was close by and they were super friendly! We moved to Canada in 2009 and I worked at the King’s University, (see below), which has Christian Reformed roots. Portland Seminary, where I studied, has Quaker foundations and currently, I worship at a Baptist Church. I find myself increasingly drawn to contemplative spirituality within the wide river that is the Christian faith, and I am fascinated by the mystics, many of whom are Catholics. So I guess I have an ecumenical heart!
Here’s a snapshot of my professional resume:…
I graduated from Portland Seminary, (in Oregon USA) with a Masters in Spiritual Formation with a concentration in Spiritual Direction in 2019. In January 2025, I left my full-time work at King’s, (work I enjoyed very much so it was a difficult decision), because I felt the nudge to focus on spiritual direction, retreat work and create space for whatever else might come along!
Oh, and I wanted some room in my life to be a Grandma!
Before emigrating to Canada in 2009, I spent twenty years in the career development field in England, working with every age group from high school through to university students and career changers. Once in Canada, I spent 10 years working in Student Life, at the King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta.
From 2020 to 2024, I transitioned to the role of directing the work of King’s Centre for Career and Calling and served as the campus Career and Vocational Counsellor. In that role I became a champion for the work of NetVUE - a Network of universities and colleges, committed to fostering explorations of vocational discernment in undergraduate education.
Along the way, I became a licensed MBTI Practitioner and developed a strong interest in the Enneagram.
Six Things About Me...
1. My name is not short for anything.
2. I am married to Mark. We have three children and four grandchildren who are my “little loves.”
3. I enjoy movies, books, podcasts, food, & photography.
4. For those who know personality tools, my MBTI letters are ENFP and my enneagram number is 7.
5. I am a curious person and forever learning.
6. I try to live wholeheartedly in the way of Christ. I am a work in progress & it’s an everyday pilgrimage.
“What you can plan is too small for you to live. What you can live wholeheartedly will make plans enough...”
So who am I?
There are many aspects to all of us and I am no different. There are experiences, knowledge, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, abilities, motivations, cultural and ethnic heritage, gender identity, personality type and so on. Getting to the heart of a person’s being is a complex endeavour and, I would say, a lifelong journey.
I had a mini identity crisis when we moved to Canada. For the first time since being a full-time student, I had no paid employment. I found myself struggling to find an answer to the inevitable question “what do you do?” It forced me to think about questions of worth and significance. Fast forward and in 2025, I moved into what I call my semi-retirement plan. Once more I face a version of that question; “what are you going to do?”
This “doing question” follows us throughout the transitions of our lives, from young to old. It’s a valid question, and at the same time, I am slowly coming to understand that I am more than my job or career aspirations, grades, or roles. Vocation is as much about ways of being as it is about what I do or achieve.
It’s a harder truth to live into than you would think!
Discernment & Vocation
Over the years, I have been able to discern that whatever the various calls on my life, some central themes have emerged. These golden threads, (as I like to think of them), weave their way across my years. They are calls that whisper to me so quietly, that I am not aware of their beckoning until I have taken the time to listen, to pay attention, to look back and reflect.
It’s one of the places in my life where spiritual direction has been helpful.
Who am I called to be in this moment?
What am I called to do right now, in this time, this place, this situation?
Who have I always been?
The work of discernment is never quite finished but I do know this...providing attentive and safe places where people can explore all they are called to be and do, is one of my golden threads.
Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman.